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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Coolbanagher Castle Revisited

It is my great pleasure to introduce the first
blog post of the New Year. Sean Murray runs the Laois Archaeology Facebook Page
[here]. He recently approached me with the desire to revisit the events surrounding the partial
collapse and subsequent demolition of the Coolbanagher Hall house in early
February 2014 [here], and offer some thoughts on the future prospects for similar structures
– of great cultural significance, but in need of urgent repair – around the
country. I commend the piece to your attention

Robert M Chapple

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Coolbanagher Castle Revisited

Sean Murray

Looking back on 2014, it was quiet a sad year
with regard to a number of our National Monuments. In particular the loss of a
13th century Hall House at Coolbanagher,
Co. Laois during storm
Darwin in February, struck the local community and the wider public to the
core. During that fateful night on the 12th of February, the southwestern
corner of the neglected monument blew to the ground. The cracks had been in the
wall long before the storm struck. Indeed, these old walls had stood the tests
of time and the many gales that went before, she still stood hard and fast.
These events were not a result of a freak storm but the culminations of years
of oversight coupled with rampant neglect on behalf of government. The owners
had, in recent years, applied for grant aid funding and had been turned down on
numerous occasions, even during the boom years when money could easily have
been more made available.

In the days after the storm, the owners
contacted the National Monuments Service, who gave tacit approval for unsafe
portions of the building to be levelled off. Unfortunately, this was misconstrued
on the ground and the entire structure was bulldozed into a neat pile of
rubble, the cairn of which marks the site today.

It would be unfair to blame any group or body
for what had happened at Coolbanagher, but the fact that such an important
cultural monument disappeared from the landscape in this manner has to be
highlighted for the safety of remaining monuments throughout the country. Such
structures provide us with a sense of cultural identity as well as providing
important revenue for tourism. Coming on the back of the year of “the Gathering 2013” when such
monuments provided a focal point for this tourism-led initiative in Ireland, it
seems shameful that resources haven’t been allocated for the upkeep of such important
centres of attraction.

After total demolition

Are we to sit idly by and let this happen again?
The loss of Coolbanagher should be a wakeup call for us all. Resources are
needed to save these buildings in a cost effective way. A new robust “Buildings
at Risk Register” is needed to create a reference for monuments most in need of
care and attention, be they in state ownership or on private lands. Perhaps
changes in legislation are needed, in that maintenance of privately held
monuments are not fully borne by farmers and other land owners who can ill
afford to spend the many thousands to consolidate neglected structures
throughout the country. Indeed, consultation costs for building examinations
are often extremely expensive and deter private landowner investment, even
before any physical work commences on a building. As a starting measure, perhaps
the government needs to invest in a dedicated team of building conservators,
which could examine each building without incurring costs on landowners. These professionals
could advise on potential working practices on site as well as oversee adequate
conservation procedures being implemented. Ideally, such works would be
centrally funded from government alongside private owner funding on a case by
case basis. This would provide a cost effective method of operating, alleviating
the financial burden on the landowners, that currently acts as a disincentive
for investment. Ultimately more funding is needed from government to achieve
these goals and keep our monuments preserved for future generations. These
funds would be offset by tourism revenues which will come in the years ahead.
Coolbanagher may have fallen, but we can pay her due respects by insuring this
neglect is limited and minimized in the future.